Frederick Preedy

Gordon Barnes, FSA, in his Frederick Preedy, Architect and Glass Painter, 1820-1898 (Evesham Historical Society, 1984, quoting Reports & Papers of the Associated Architectural Societies, vol XV, lii, 1850-1935), includes the following entry in his catalogue of Preedy's work:

East window: Baptism of Jesus; Holy Lamb; Birth of Jesus; Pelican in Piety; The Agony in the Garden; Jesus Preaching in the Temple

Little Packington, Saint Bartholomew: Nave and oak bell tower rebuilt. Nave roof, timbered porch. Stained glass in East window. Cost £1340. Reopened 30 July 1879. Isolated and derelict by 1984.

According to Barnes, Preedy was born at Offenham near Evesham, on 2 June 1820. "He was the fifth child and third son of William Frederick Preedy (1775-1856) and Eleanor his wife (1776-1855). The family had a long connection with Evesham. Frederick's father, grandfather, and great-grandfather had ... on occasion all been mayors. The family ran a hosier's business, which had been handed from father to son since 1715. About 1840 Frederick's family moved to Fladbury, Worcestershire. He set up practice in Worcester in 1852 or before, and was elected a member of the Ecclesiological Society in that year. He submitted many of his designs for criticism, many of which were published in the Ecclesiologist. He was a founder member of the Worcester Diocesan Architectural Society, which also commented on many of his designs and restorations in its annual reports.

"His architectural assistant from 1872-1884 was James Samuel Alder.

"Preedy must have been an exceptionally hard-working man. A great deal of his time was evidently spent in travelling because, after he moved to London, so many of his commissions were for works in Worcestershire, Warwickshire, and Norfolk ... In 1886 he was asked to prepare designs for a new church at Wimbledon but he soon afterwards resigned from the commission on the grounds of ill-health. At the time Preedy was 66 years old and, as far as can be discovered, he never worked again. By 1887 he had left his York Place house ... After his wife Mary died, in 1889, he lived with his son William Frederick and daughter Mary in Croydon at Tregarden, Spencer Road. There he died on 28 March 1898. Influenza had developed into bronchial pneumonia, from which he had suffered for twenty days. Under his will, proved by his son and daughter, he left a little over £7,700. He was buried at Foxham (Wilts.) with his wife and his father-in-law, Philip Morgan, outside a church built by his great contemporary, Butterfield".

20 new churches and 30 major restorations are listed, together with "13 new chancels, 6 new naves, and 10 other churches where additions were made. He also built at least 6 schools, and more works undoubtedly remain to be discovered."

"Most of Preedy's churches were designed in the early 14th-century style sometimes called Early Decorated, which was much advocated by 19th-century ecclesiologists; it was considered the highest and purest form of gothic. In general Preedy's early churches were more ornate, his later much more severe. His small buildings have great charm. They are simple in design but have rich furniture and somewhat 'fruity' carving ... As an architect, Preedy was not in the first rank of 19th-century designers but, on the other hand, he was not so run-of-the-mill as many of his contemporaries; his new churches show many original touches ... His window tracery is often original, if somewhat eccentric, and can serve to identify much of his work ... The timber work of his church roofs is outstanding; massive and of very good design. No two roofs are the same. His carved stonework is also notable. Usually executed for him by Boulton of Cheltenham, it displays great sensitivity in design and execution ...

"As a restorer of old churches Preedy, in common with many of his contemporaries, could be very unsympathetic to ancient features; in some cases they were obliterated and in others new work was introduced that did not blend with the old. Much obloquy has been heaped on the heads of 19th-century restorers, but in judging them we should not lose sight of the fact that many of the buildings with which they had to deal were in a terrible state of decay. Where a nave or chancel had to be rebuilt a different style was sometimes employed, perhaps more in line with contemporary thought on architecture ...

"Few of Preedy's domestic buildings have been located ..."

Preedy may have been taught to paint by a cousin, Henry Styleman Le Strange (1815-62), lord of the manor of Hunstanton, (Norfolk) and a talented amateur artist ...

About 1850 Preedy was designing stained glass for George Rogers of Worcester. After an artistic dispute with Rogers in 1853, in which William Butterfield supported Preedy, he taught himself to make stained glass.

"In 1859 he took over a house, 13 York Place, Baker Street, London from a glass painter who was emigrating to Australia. It is thought that a small studio had been built in the garden. Preedy remained at that address until c.1887.

"His first windows were made c. 1854 for Church Lench church (Worcestershire), and for over thirty years Preedy was not only an architect but a designer and maker of stained glass windows. In this he seems to have been unique; many architects drew cartoons for glass but only Preedy seems to have manufactured them as well. His output of glass was enormous for a small firm, especially when one considers that he was conducting an extensive architectural practice. His windows have been traced in over 100 churches, among them four cathedrals; a total of about 240 windows. It is possible that he employed Messrs Payne & Green, of Kilburn, to execute some of his designs; that firm made a window for Claverton church (Somerset) to Preedy's design after his retirement. That some of his glass was painted by other hands seems certain because the quality of the work varies considerably. At its best Preedy's glass will bear comparison with that of the leading 19th-century painters; at its worst it is still better than many of the windows produced in the latter part of the century.

"That Preedy made great progress in the first years of his glass making may be learnt from a report of the 1862 International Exhibition. The jury awarded an honourable mention and the Building News (12 Sept. 1862, 192) said 'We must pay tribute to the excellencies of Mr Preedy's productions'. The Ecclesiologist (XXIII, 172) was more reserved: 'Mr Preedy has some good canopy work; but his design is somewhat affected'. It seems to have been the only occasion on which Preedy exhibited, but in the following year his was one of the firms invited to discuss the arrangements for the display of stained glass in an exhibition. As the other firms included Clayton & Bell, Hardman, Lavers & Barraud, Powell, and O'Connor we may assume that he was highly thought of in the design and production of stained glass. Butterfield must have thought highly of Preedy's glass, for he commissioned work from him for several of his churches. When Butterfield had a say in the design Preedy's glass appears completely different from that of his usual style and is almost indistinguishable from glass made for Butterfield by Alexander Gibbs.

"The east window at Storridge (c.1856) .. has been judged by Mr Martin Harrison to be one of the finest products of its date ... later windows show an almost completely different approach ...

"In many of Preedy's windows a piece of architecture is depicted; a small arcade, a house, or a doorway (frequently of Egyptian appearance). Several windows have a good picture of a camel. Much of his earlier work has great transparency and light colouring. His use of several shades of blue, magenta, and purple, together with much white glass, which sets off his brilliant reds and greens, is apparent when his glass is studied carefully. In the 1860s, however, he had trouble with the firing of his glass, as did other makers; many of the faces have faded and some appear like photographic negatives. As his style developed the windows became 'smoother' in design; some of the early freshness and naïveté was lost, but the quality of the drawing and sense of colour remained."

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